Black Desert Online
Type: Sandbox-theme park mix | Developer: Pearl Abyss | Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Release Date: March 3, 2016 | Model: Buy2Play
What is Black Desert Online? Black Desert is a sandbox MMORPG where you can do whatever you want. You can live as a craftsman, become a fisher, play PvP, or grind in PvE. Like with theme park competitors, there are many quests that accompany you through the leveling phase and tell stories.
At the focus of Black Desert is the very dynamic combat system, which allows you exciting duels against hordes of monsters, but also against other players. Besides the freedom and the combat system, the graphics of Black Desert are often praised as innovative and particularly beautiful.
What is the unique selling point? In Black Desert, there is no direct level cap. While additional levels bring few benefits after a certain point, players still celebrate themselves for the next record.
BDO also forgoes a Holy Trinity. Since there is no focus on dungeons or raids, healers are not so much in demand. So, if you enjoy freedom, you are not pushed into a classic role. Additionally, you can look forward to small parkour content where your character can jump and climb on mountains.
Who is BDO aimed at? Black Desert mainly wants to reach players who enjoy total freedom. In BDO, you do not have to play specific content or fulfill specific roles. You can also engage in content like housing, crafting, or role-playing over many months.
Alternatively, you can jump into PvP, where massive battles await in outposts or duels in small arenas. You can also fight in the open world once you reach level 50.
What content requires real money? Black Desert costs a one-time fee of ten euros for PC, with packages offering additional rewards for up to 50 euros.
In the game itself, there is a cash shop, where mainly cosmetic content can be found. However, these are expensive and clothing sets and other content often cost 40 euros or more.
There are also often accusations of pay-to-win, but these usually remain small. Only costumes can be monetized through the marketplace, where you can theoretically buy currency. However, this is not really lucrative.
What does the future of BDO look like? In 2019, Black Desert was first released for Xbox One and later for PS4. Also, in December Black Desert Mobile, which takes place in the same world but is structured a bit differently, was released. So, a lot has happened around the MMORPG.
The PC version is also constantly being developed. Every year, several new classes are added, and recently, there have been many area expansions. The big highlight is the boss fights: I played the expansion in the MMORPG Black Desert: Finally skills pay off, and it’s not just pure grind
